Movement cannot be stopped by persecution: Fakhrul
Soon after getting out of jail on 9 January, the BNP leader vowed to intensify the ongoing movement against the government
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakrul Islam Alamgir has said the ruling Awami League will not be able to suppress the party's ongoing movement through persecution.
"The government has no ground under its feet, so it is attacking all sides. As its collapse is approaching, the leaders of the ruling party are talking back and forth," he said while addressing a press conference at the BNP chairperson's political office in the capital on Thursday.
"During the countrywide sit-in programme on 11 January, the ruling party men and police carried out attacks on BNP men in Faridpur and Mymensingh. Not only that, police then filed a case against our leaders and activists in Faridpur and over 100 were arrested," Fakhrul said.
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"Earlier, they [ruling party] used to say that we [BNP] do not have the courage or support to take a stand on the street. Now we did wage a movement which made them so scared that they are oppressing and torturing our people to put an end to this movement," the BNP leader said.
When asked about Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader's statement about the various alliances formed to shore up the BNP's simultaneous movement, Mirza Fakhrul denied responding to it.
"I do not want to respond to the words of the Awami League general secretary [Obaidul Quader] because, like me, people across the country do not care about him," he said.
When attention was drawn to the prime minister's statement regarding the BNP's ongoing agitation, Fakhrul Islam said, "We do not want to respond to the prime minister's words either. We will respond through our activities."
The BNP secretary general also told reporters that the party does not want to talk about elections and EVMs.
At the press event, Fakrul called upon people from all walks of life to join their next protest rally on 16 January, to press home their 10-point demand and to protest the recent electricity price hike.
BNP Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan, Vice-Chairman Abdul Awal Mintoo, and others were present.
On 9 January, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas walked out of jail a month after their arrest on 9 December.
Soon after getting out of jail, Mirza Fakhrul vowed to intensify the ongoing movement against the government and the restoration of democracy.
